Pliny the phenomenon — through the years and beers

It has been 10 years since Russian River Brewing Co. introduced its Pliny the Younger Triple IPA. In a decade, the beer’s limited February release — which began Friday — has become perhaps the biggest phenomenon in the U.S. craft beer industry and has helped propel Russian River into the top tier of American craft breweries. Here’s a timeline of the brewery and its most famous brews:

The Russian River brewpub during the 2013 release of Pliny the Younger.

1994: Vinnie Cilurzo, who grew up in a winemaking family, founds Blind Pig Brewing Co. in Temecula. He operates it for about three years.1997: Cilurzo and his wife, Natalie, move to Sonoma County. He starts work as the brewmaster at Russian River Brewing Co., an operation then owned by Korbel Champagne Cellars.2000: Russian River debuts its double-hopped India pale ale, Pliny the Elder, at the Double IPA Festival in Hayward. Its namesake is the Roman naturalist and philosopher who died in 79 A.D. and who some folks say was one of the first people to write about hops. The name’s genesis aside, the beer still holds a perfect 100 score on beer-rating website Beer Advocate and is the No.3 beer overall.2003: Korbel sells the Russian River brand to the Cilurzos.2004: Russian River Brewing’s brewpub opens in downtown Santa Rosa.2005: Pliny the Younger debuts. The triple-hopped India pale ale clocks in with an alcohol content of more than 10percent. It’s available for only two weeks a year because of its time- and cash-consuming brewing process.2008: Cilurzo wins the Brewers Association’s Russell Schehrer Award for Innovation in Craft Brewing, one of the industry’s most prestigious honors.

Glasses of Pliny the Younger line the bar during the 2013 release.

2008: Russian River’s production brewery opens about a mile from the brewpub, allowing for beers to get to three times as many thirsty fans.2010: Beer Advocate users give Pliny the Younger a perfect score and the No. 1 ranking, making it the unofficial best beer in the U.S. The day of the beer’s February release, Russian River is overwhelmed by the throngs of fans and runs out of the Younger within hours.2013: Russian River works with the Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa on a special Pliny the Younger package deal in response to the throngs of suds-soaked tourists who flock to Santa Rosa each February. (A second hotel joins in on the promotion in 2014.)2014: Pliny pursuers should expect a line at the Russian River brewpub that at times surpasses last year’s eight-hour wait.